


Alternate Story

by PurpleAssassin



Category: Final Fantasy XIII Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-14 18:31:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 15,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5753776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleAssassin/pseuds/PurpleAssassin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Lightning can destroy Bhunivelze, Yeul (excluding the last one) becomes the new Goddess of Death, and recalls the Chaos back where it belongs, in the Unseen Realm. The World begins to correct itself, and time begins to flow as it should have. Lightning, with the help of the others, proceeds to destroy Bhunivelze, as they no longer need a god to watch over them. With the help of the new goddess, the lost souls are reborn as they were, setting Serah and Hope free, and the heroes start their new lives in Luxerion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Dawn - Lightning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Terra Incognita - FFXIII  
> \- Memories of Happier Days - FFXIII

**_To think that God is dead, slayed by my hands. Time has been re-established, granting new life and the continuation of our world. The land consumed by the Chaos five-hundred years ago has been restored. Everyone is here with us, and we can finally continue our lives from where we left off, before we became l’cie._ **

_"Your father was just as meddlesome as you," Dysley spoke to me as he sunk into the strange waters. Everyone else was celebrating. They hadn't heard him, he had spoken directly to me, what could it mean? And then Orphan rose out of the water, and we prepared to fight once again, the fate of Cocoon in our hands._

The sun shined through my curtains, brighter than usual and piercing through my eyelids. I rolled over, desperate for a few more minutes of sleep, but the sunlight reached over here as well, bouncing off of objects in my room.  _What a strange dream,_ I thought to myself.

There was a knock and the door opened slightly. Serah giggled as she saw my sprawled form on the bed. “Time to wake up, Claire, breakfast is ready.”

I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and dressed myself, glancing in the mirror and seeing the mess of hair that lay upon my head. It looked as bad as Sazh’s afro. Combing my fingers through, I patted it down as much as I could, and entered the kitchen, pouring myself a cup of coffee- no sugar, because sugar is for the weak. Pulling out a chair, I sat down, stomach rumbling as my eyes scanned the fresh food on the table.

Across from me, Snow had already started eating, his plate filled with sausages, bacon, eggs, toast- pretty much everything on the table was on his plate. Of course, he probably needed all that food with the overly large body he had, but I still thought he was a pig. Snow was still the patron of Yusnaan, and he had to go over there every day or so. He kept telling us he was going to quit, but he never seemed to get time to announce his resignation, or so he said. I think he secretly enjoyed the festivities enough to want to keep the position, although he was going to have to resign soon or Serah would have something to say about it.

“Hey Light, you look like you just tried to fight a Chocobo Eater and lost,” Snow jeered.

I threw my fork at him.

To my right sat Hope. He ate like a normal teenage boy, fortunately. Hope was sort of like my adopted son now I guess. His parents never returned, and if they did they were nowhere to be found. I mean he can probably handle himself fine, after all, these one thousand or so years have to have taught us something. But I would just feel really bad if I left him on his own, so he lived with us. For some reason Hope was still a teenager, changed by the Chaos. The others were still adjusting to it, but through my time as the saviour, I had learnt of a woman who had kept aging even though the Chaos had shattered time. So I knew that these things concerning the age of people could happen. Hope looked up at me and grinned at my drowsy and misshapen face. I scowled at him, and he grinned even more. Snow was a bad influence.

Serah sat next to Snow, a perfect example of someone who had a little bit of elegance to her eating style. Sitting next to Snow they looked like two opposites. Serah was exactly the same as I remembered her. The same hair, clothing style, personality, face. After not really seeing her for a thousand years, it’s pretty amazing to see that she looks the same as ever. Of course, I know that Serah’s not the same inside.

She went on that journey with Noel, learnt so much about herself and her purpose, and fulfilled that purpose by fixing the timeline and dying in Noel’s arms as the Chaos was unleashed into the world. She couldn’t be the same after that, but what do I know, I’m not her.

I dug into my food. It was good. Serah always had the knack for cooking unlike me. Only thing I can cook is some behemoth steak, and maybe some toast.

After breakfast, Snow and Serah left to go to work. Serah worked as a history teacher at the local school. She always talked about how amazing her classes and students were. Hope left a little while later to get to school, the same as where Serah worked. I sat down on the couch and flicked on the television. I didn’t really work anymore. The Order wasn’t for me, even though Bhunivelze was dead, they still worshipped his religion and whatever other crap he had bestowed on them. Every now and then I’d be asked to sort out a monster problem or two, but it wasn’t really anything major, just stray Niblets and Gremlins.

So I did all the ‘womanly’ things, like cleaning and shopping. Thankfully, I had always had the knack for housework, though to be honest, it sucked now, after everything I’d been through. I yearned to be able to work like I did back in Bodhum. Just a normal soldier, protecting the town properly, like a policeman. But unfortunately, people didn’t really need the police these days, and the Order would deal with anything that popped up to keep their influence on the populace stable.

So all in all, there was no place for me really.

 

 


	2. Outlasted Patron - Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Tension in the Air - FFXIII  
> \- Final Words - Lightning Returns

_There is no point in me being here._

With the world’s continuation and the restoration of time, people no longer needed to celebrate and party anymore. Sure, some people still did, but it wasn’t the same without the whole town. _So why do I stay?_

As I thought to myself about this, I felt something. It was faint, but it was there. A power of some sort. Concerned and curious, I treaded carefully, following the source of power all the way to where Lightning confronted me a few weeks ago and I turned into cieth. There on the floor was the mark of Pulse. No wonder. After all I was a L’cie for hundreds of years, and that mark had been there since I became Patron, however that power had mysteriously disappeared when time was restored. No, what really bothered me was the fact that the mark was glowing a dull red, and the form of Caius standing in the corner of the room.

I raised my fists instinctively, knowing he was the reason that all of this had happened, but also knowing that he was the reason Yeul could do her job as the Goddess safely. “Why are you here, Caius?”

“I should think it obvious, after all I am Yeul’s guardian and the one who remembers all visions she sees while sitting on her throne in Valhalla.”

“She’s seen something?” I asked, knowing this could not be good.

“You, Lightning and the others performed a great deed in defeating Bhunivelze, but you need remember there are still three gods out there that are not too pleased with the death of their father… and son” Caius said.

“Bhunivelze… has a father?” This was really, really bad.

“Mother, actually. You see when Yeul forced the Chaos to retract back into the Unseen Realm, she saw something, causing her to have a vision. This vision I cannot share the full details of, but remember this Snow, Mwynn is coming, and she won’t rest until the one who killed her son lay dead by her hands.”

“What about the other two?”

“Pulse and Lindzei are far less dangerous than their grandmother, however you must remain vigilant. No doubt you will come across the two soon,” Caius said.

Shit. I’ve gotta tell Light right away. “Cheers, Caius.”

“Wait, Snow.” Caius said before he could leave the room.

“As an… apology for what I did, as well as a gift from Yeul. I grant you the powers that you once had as a l’cie. But do not fret, for there is no timer. You are not l’cie, you will just have the power of one.”

As Caius said this, the mark on the floor started to glow a brighter red, and I felt the power run through my body. Just to test it out and make sure, I casted ruin at the wall to make sure. It worked, and the wall rumbled a little from the impact.

“I gotta say Caius, you are the gift that keeps on giving today.” I said with a smile.

“I know.” And with that, tendrils of purple shadow wrapped around him and he vanished, the mark of Pulse fading slowly as his power left the vicinity.

_Well, this is unexpected._


	3. Distant Past... And Future - Fang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Dust to Dust - FFXIII  
> \- Paradox - FFXIII-2  
> \- The Last Travel - FFXIII-2

I scanned the crystal wasteland, looking for signs of… well, anything. But just like when we returned to our home a thousand years ago, there was nothing. Oerba sat on the other side of this crystal dune. I could see the tip of the abandoned facility.

“You sure about this?”

I turned to look at Noel. We didn’t really know each other, but I liked him. He was a hunter, like me. He knew when to be serious, and when to have a laugh. Qualities like his you couldn’t find in anyone else.

“I’m sure. Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it.”

“There is definitely something here, I can feel it,” Yeul said in her silvery voice

The last of the Yeul’s, this ‘version’ could not see visions anymore, having been released from her fate as the Seeress when her predecessors became the new goddess. However, she was still able to sense when something important was ahead, or about to happen.

Noel and Yeul had accompanied me here, because they wanted to explore now that the world had been restored. In their original time, all they had known was a lonely wasteland caused by the destruction of Cocoon. Now, since the fall off Cocoon had been prepared for and orchestrated by an older version of Hope when it fell five hundred years ago, it sat on the plains of Pulse, a ruin of what had once been a thriving world. I didn’t really see the point in Noel and Yeul coming here though as they explored the different areas of Pulse. It’s probably the same as the time in which they lived in.

I came here because I wanted to lay my eyes on my old home. It’s been a thousand years since I last saw it, so I thought I should come have a look at the landscape changes since then. Not the most exciting reason, but that’s fine, as long as I get to see what’s become of it. Vanille couldn’t bear the thought of coming, so she stayed back at Luxerion with Sazh and Dajh.

As we were making the long journey across, Yeul said she could sense something ahead, in the direction of Oerba. So, with a little more pace, we continued onwards to our destination.

Now here we were, about to climb the final dune of crystal sand.

We reached the top of the dune, sweating heavily, and looked over the desolate village while we caught our breath. The train track where we fought Barthandelus. Mine and Vanille’s home. The school. Everything was in sight. The sun shone on top of the great lake that had slowly diminished over the years. Further on from Oerba, you could see the apex of Taejin’s Tower, lair of the dead fal’cie Dahaka.

We slid down the dune, crystal sand flying up from our feet. It would have been a pretty sight had it been for the right reasons. Reaching the bottom, we continued on into the town square. A few quick swings of my lance and the three Ceratosaur in the square were taken care of. I continued over to the house, while Noel and Yeul looked around the square and the surrounding buildings for whatever Yeul had sensed.

The house hadn’t changed, just gotten dustier. A picture of Vanille and I lay on its side on the cabinet, as well as a bunch of Vanille’s old bracelets. I grabbed them, thinking I’d give them to Vanille, but they turned to dust when I touched them. Guess it was very much past its prime time. Taking one last look around, I proceeded down the stairs to find Noel and Yeul ready to move on.

“Find anything?” Noel asked.

“Nope, just old objects that turn to dust when you touch them.”

“Yeah, that happened with us too,” said Yeul.

We continued on down to the lakefront, and into the school. There wasn’t much left inside, just an old globe of Cocoon with graffiti scribbled all over it, highlighting the hatred that our town had for Cocoon. I even managed to find some of my own glorious work scribbled on the globe. _Cocoon, land of overentitled scumbags._ Nice one, nine-year-old me.

The roof contained the last of the stunning flowers that used to grow all over Oerba, before the War of Transgression. As well as an oracle drive, a device that showed visions of the future recorded by the Seeress’ of the past. So this is what Yeul had sensed. We moved over towards it.

“How does it work?” I asked, motioning at the green, twelve sided recording device.

“You touch it, it shows the future,” Noel replied simply.

“Should we touch it then?” I suggested.

 “Nah, after all I’ve been through with these things and timelines and all that other stuff, it’s probably best if we don’t,” Noel answered.

As he said that, Yeul stepped forward and activated the oracle drive.

“But I just said…”

The oracle drive emitted a bright green light and a single picture appeared in the space above it. I studied it closely, not sure as to what I was seeing. In the picture, there were four people. One lying on the floor, one leaning over the one on the floor, and two standing behind them. And in front, a towering shadow. I could feel the power of whatever it was even through this recording. And then the oracle drive deactivated, and the picture disappeared.

“What… was that?” I asked, not sure what I had just seen or what it meant.

“I don’t know,” both Noel and Yeul said at the same time.

“It looked as though someone was dead, and that towering thing… There’s only one thing that could be that big," I said.

“You’re not thinking what I’m thinking are you?” Noel said gravelly.

“I hope not,” I answered.

‘What you’re both thinking… Is true. That shadow was none other than Mwynn, mother of Bhunivelze. I thought she was dead, consumed by the Chaos long ago, but… That was her. I’m sure of it,” Yeul said with no emotion.

“So someone is gonna die while facing the mother of Bhunivelze, in some colossal battle that could once again determine the fate of the universe. And I’m guessing the other three include Lightning somehow, because she always seems to be caught up in the matters of the gods,” Noel thought aloud.

While we debated on what we saw, an explosion sounded, coming from the town square. We turned quickly to see water rising up in the air and then falling down. Something was in the square that could use waterga, some sort of flan maybe?

“Come on lets go,” I said urgently, and we ran hastily to the village.

 

 


	4. Leading A Normal Life - Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't think of a theme to listen to while reading this chapter. Sorry!

School is… different now. Back when I used to go to school, we would just look up information that we needed on our portable tablet things. They were like mini pop-up laptops. So the teacher would give us an assignment or a task or something, and we would just look it up on the tablet thing. There was no ‘learning’ actually happening. No one was happy going to learn, it was just the same stuff, different day.

Nowadays however, schooling took on a more practical approach, getting children out in the open. There were no classrooms. Our location changed almost every day, and it was a lot more relaxing for the teachers and the children. I liked it a lot better.

Right now I was in a class just studying basic science. I already knew all of this stuff, but a refresher was good. Everybody knew I was director of the Academy way back when, and they always wondered why I was here, learning stuff I already knew. I just shrugged when they asked, but really it was because I like the atmosphere, it was fun being able to just relax and learn again after so many years as the leader of effectively the entire human race. And really, what else is a fourteen-year-old meant to do these days.

About fifty or so metres away, I could see Serah, sorry, Miss Farron, teaching a class of younger kids. She had them way under control, not a sound could be heard from them. She specialized in history, but she could teach every other subject just as well. I’d never had her as a teacher myself, but from what I heard, she was the best teacher anyone could have. Miss Farron glanced over my way and waved, while the kids were doing some work. I waved back. All the kids also knew that Miss Farron was like my aunty, but no one ever really mentioned it. The good thing about this day and age, is that everyone kinda grew out of all the bullying and nit-picking that they used to give out a long time ago. Everyone grew up, without actually aging.

I glanced at my watch. Three o’clock. Time to start packing up. My teacher dismissed us and I walked over to where Serah was. I could call her that now because school was over. She was just packing her bag when I arrived, and her phone rang.

“Hey, Claire,” Serah said happily.

I could hear Light’s voice over the phone, though I couldn’t make out the words. She sounded distressed and extremely pissed off.

Serah’s face turned grey, and I had to catch her as she fell awkwardly.

I mouthed to her “What?” But all she did was shake her head. I could hear Light in the background. Was she crying? No, that couldn’t be right. Even with all her emotions back where they belonged, Light still didn’t cry. It sounded weird to put ‘Lightning’ and ‘crying’ in the same sentence, unless it had something to do with her making someone else cry. That made sense.

I had to get back home, and find out what was happening. It had to be urgent. I guided Serah back home slowly, weaving in and out of people to try and get home as quick as possible.

After about half an hour of walking, I made it to the front door step. I was sweating profusely, and my clothes were sticking to me like glue. I grabbed the keys out of Serah’s pocket and opened the door. Snow instantly took Serah off of me and sat her down on the couch. I could see Light on the opposite couch with her head in her hands. When Snow had settled Serah down, he came over to me and took me into the kitchen.

“Did Serah tell you what happened?” Snow asked.

“No, she was too shocked to say anything, and I couldn’t here Light over the phone. Snow, what’s happening? What could possibly shake up those two so badly?” I asked him, though part of me didn’t want to know.

”How do I put this. You know mostly about the mythology of the gods, right?” Snow was struggling with whatever the situation was, I could see it in his eyes.

“Yeah, of course, I had to do something in the three hundred and twenty one years that I wasn’t Bhunivelze’s vessel.”

“Well then you know who Mwynn is, right?” Snow asked.

“Yeah, Bhunivelze’s mother, but, she’s dead Snow. What could she have to do with anything anymore?” My mind was starting to put the pieces together now, but I had to hear it in words to be sure.

“Mwynn survived the Chaos. She was just trapped inside it, but when Yeul opened the gate and called back all the Chaos, Mwynn escaped. Now she’s after the one who killed her son, and by extension, us,” Snow said grimly.

“But… Why… Why would she want to avenge Bhunivelze’s death? I mean he put her in there after all,” I said, not fully understanding what was happening or what was going to happen.

“I don’t know, Hope. I don’t know.” And with that, Snow strode out of the kitchen and went to go comfort Serah. She’d moved to her room to be alone for a bit, so only Light was in the living room, in the same position as before.

I sat down next to her and hugged her. I didn’t know what else to do.

 

 

 


	5. Forgotten L'Cie - Noel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Ruined Hometown - FFXIII-2  
> \- The Pulse L'Cie - FFXIII

We rushed over to the square, weapons in hand. Above us, the sounds of constant waterga and the occasional thundara were blasting overhead. We sprinted up the ramp and turned into the battle, striking and slashing through a hoard of Ceratosaur, accompanied by it’s larger and more dangerous family, the Ceratoraptor. Eventually we had them cornered, prompting Fang to leap into the air and come down with such velocity that she created a huge explosion, causing the Ceratosaur and Ceratoraptor to disintegrate and join the mass of crystal dust.

“Well that was a toughie,” Fang said, a trickle of sweat running down the side of her head.

“I guess I should thank you for the help.”

I turned to see a man standing behind us. He had light brown hair, styled similarly to my own, and pale blue eyes. His clothes were Cocoon-like, with grey pants, a green t-shirt, and a short sleeved black jacket. On his chest, to the left side, were the tips of what looked like white arrowheads, but I wasn’t sure, as well as a chain necklace, though the pendent or whatever was at the bottom was hidden by his shirt. In his left hand he held a bloodied falchion-like sword, with a motorcycle engine at the hilt of the sword, and an inscription that ran along the tip of the blade. _Strange,_ I thought.

“How did you get here?” Fang asked angrily, “This place is meant to be off-limits!”

“Woah, hold it there young lady. I’m not so sure how I got here myself, actually, nor do I even know _where_ I am. You see I just woke from crystal stasis, and –“

“You woke from crystal stasis? Prove it.” Fang seemed a little on edge.

The man pulled back his shirt and revealed what the white arrowheads were. The mark of a pulse l’Cie. Also now visible was the pendent on his necklace. It was shaped like a lightning bolt.

I raised my swords, “Where did you get that pendent?” I asked heatedly.

“I bought it myself just a year ago, as well as another one that I gave to my daughter. Ahhh, she’s probably worried sick about me. Tell me, do any of you know a little girl by the name of Claire Farron?”

I stared at him blankly. Did he just say Claire Farron? I turned to Fang and Yeul, who looked shocked.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Christopher Farron. Call me Chris. What’s with the face? Do you know Claire? She has a sister as well, only a few months old, Serah, and their mother, Amelia. Do you know them too?” Chris said, he was smiling now.

Fang spoke up. “Yeah we know your daughters, though Claire goes by the name Lightning now. Also, I don’t know when you went to sleep in that crystal, but a lot more time has passed then you seem to think has. Tell me, what age was Lightning when you gave her that pendent?”

“Three,” Chris said, the smile faltering for a second.

“Well Chris, it’s time for the biggest shock of your life, you see Lightning isn’t three any more. That all happened about, umm –“

“One thousand and eighteen years ago,” Yeul spoke suddenly.

Now it was Chris’s turn to look blank, he dropped his sword and it clattered to the ground.

Fang continued, “However, Chris, you’ll be pleased to hear that both Lightning and Serah are alive and well. Your wife, I don’t know anything about, Lightning never went into detail about her past.”

Chris looked at us. “How are they alive after one thousand years? That’s impossible!”

“Nope, I’m afraid not. You see I’m actually the oldest hag on the planet. I am around one thousand five hundred years old. A lot has happened since you were frozen in crystal, Chris.”

“But you look like you’re only in your twenties?” Chris asked, confused.

“Chris, I’ve been frozen in crystal twice in my life. I’ve seen more than you could ever know. I’ve watched a world fall, I’ve seen a god destroyed. Trust me, there is a lot you don’t know right now.”

“One thousand years…” Chris muttered, “So can you take me to see Claire and Serah?”

I looked at Fang and Yeul and shrugged. He could fight, that much was obvious, which meant he wouldn’t have to rely solely on us all the time. And we couldn’t leave him here.

I looked back at Chris. “I’m Noel. Noel Kreiss. This is Fang, and this is Yeul. We’ll take you back to Luxerion, and you can see your daughters. It’s quite a long way, so be prepared for quite the walk. You can tell us all about why you’re a l’Cie and the rest of your story on the way. Sound good?”

“Anything to see my daughters again.” Chris said thankfully.

“Ok, I’ll be back, I just gotta grab something.”

As I was running back to the school to grab the oracle drive, I thought about what Lightning and Serah would say. Would they be mad? Would they be overjoyed? I don’t know. All that would be crushed when they learnt of what we saw in the oracle drive anyway.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were wondering about my inspiration about Chris' sword, its meant to look like Noctis' main sword from FFXV. The reason behind this is that I wanted to connect the two series because of their mythos, albeit only a tiny bit. I'll probably make a connection between XIII and Type-0 in the future. 
> 
> Noctis' Sword - http://realzeles.deviantart.com/art/Noctis-Lucis-Caelum-sword-from-Final-Fantasy-XV-532883346


	6. Slash And Burn - Lightning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Unguarded Future - FFXIII-2  
> \- Will to Fight - FFXIII (For the fight in-story)  
> \- Limit Break - FFXIII-2 (For the fight in-story)

_Why-_

I sliced open the Vali’s shoulder.

_Did-_

I swept its legs out from underneath it with my own.

_This-_

I plunged Crimson Blitz into it’s skull, and turned to face the Hanuman.

_Have-_

I ran towards the Hanuman, feinting towards the right and then slashing at it’s exposed left calf.

_To-_

I slid around to the other side, and with a flick of my wrist, beheaded the annoying monkey-like creature. I turned as a large group of Rafflesia advanced towards me.

_Happen-_

A felt the power of fire run through me, felt it charge into the spell.

_TO ME!_

I released the spell, and the Rafflesia turned orange before the fire engulfed them, turning the monsters into nothing but embers.

I was covered in sweat. My grey training top had turned black from it. My veins were clearly visible on my bare arms and legs. I was burnt too. Badly. The sun out here in the Wildlands was far brighter than in Luxerion. My legs ached, and the muscles were all tensed up. My hair was matted against my head.

When I killed God, my powers had depleted, meaning that magic took a bigger toll on the body. The only way I could cast it was with my own mana supply. I sheathed Crimson Blitz, and started heading back to the train station. A Niblet came at me from the side. I kicked it away fiercely. The stubborn hairball came back. I kicked it away again, and kept walking. It was STILL following me. I unsheathed my sword, and turned around smashing the Niblet with the hilt.

“FUCK OFF!” I screamed at the Niblet. I struck it again and again slowing bashing it to death. Eventually, it crumbled and fell to the ground. I stumbled away slowly and threw Crimson Blitz at a rock. Cupping my face to my hands, I knelt down and cried.

I sat there for hours, until the sun started to set. I stared up into the sky, as the stars started to appear. The artificial Cocoon sky is nothing compared to the sky above Pulse. I closed my eyes, and rain started to fall. Crappy, hot rain. Where had those clouds come from? I got up quickly, muscles protesting, and quickly moved towards the base of an outcrop, where the rain didn’t touch me.

The temperature started to drop while I was underneath the outcrop, so I created a small fire to help warm up. _Really shouldn’t have stayed out this long, Serah’s going to be worried,_ I thought to myself. The rain started to fall harder, and a trickle of water started to run into my rain-free zone. I use a bit more magic to strengthen the flame sitting in front of me, and the water stopped trickling. I was going to have to leave soon, otherwise this small area would get flooded. Just as I was getting ready to make a bolt for the train station, Serah appeared in the dim light that the fire gave off. She had an umbrella in one hand, Crimson Blitz in another, and a jacket over her shoulder.

“Come on,” She said, handing me the jacket and my sword. I put on the jacket and sheathed the sword on my back. Serah put her arm around my waist and helped me forward. “You’re hurt,” Serah murmured, and she cast curasa. My muscles instantly felt better, but I was dead tired. Serah continued to practically drag me along the Wildlands, all the way to the station. Snow was there waiting. He rushed forward and lifted me up into his arms. I was too tired to protest. Serah payed for the tickets and we boarded the train back to Luxerion.

By the time the train stopped in Luxerion, I had regained a little strength, though I still needed support. I placed my hand on Serah’s shoulder, as Snow was too tall for me to do that, and she guided me forward till we got to our house. Snow put the key in the door, and it swung open, revealing little to no light. I guess Hope had already gone to bed. Serah and Snow helped me towards my room, and when I was sat down, Serah began to pull of my damp and sweaty clothes.

“I, uhhh, I’ll go wait in the living room,” Snow said awkwardly.

“That would probably be best, dear, unless you wish to see Light naked?” Serah said.

“No thank you, think I’ll pass.” Snow left quietly, so as not to disturb Hope on the way past his room.

Serah continued and laid me down on the bed, putting the sheets over me. I hated being treated like such a child, but I couldn’t do anything about it even if I tried.

“Thank you, Serah,” I said weakly.

Serah smiled faintly, and nudged me on the head. “You had me worried, silly.”

“You… get worried… too easily… See… I’m fine,” I said, smiling slightly.

“Whatever you say, sis.” And with that I fell asleep.

 


	7. Travels - Yeul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Those For The Purge - FFXIII  
> \- Primarch Dysley - FFXIII

We stopped at the top of the hill, catching our breath. Noel, Fang and Chris had been talking about everything that Lightning and Serah had achieved.

“So Claire killed our God, saved Serah whose soul had been taken by God, and then the world was set back to normal… Wow… To think my daughters have done so much.”

I stared over the plains of Pulse. In the middle, below the Ark, Academia stood once again. It was destroyed when the Chaos infected the world, but when everything came back, Academia did as well. Beyond the great metropolis, I could see the clock tower and the cathedral of Luxerion, casting great shadows as the sun started to set. We would be home soon.

We started down the hill, walking this time because it wasn’t as steep as the one near Oerba. Still we stumbled every now and then. When we reached the bottom, Fang stepped in front of Chris.

“So Chris we’ve told you what’s happened while you were gone. Now it’s your turn to tell us a story. Why were you branded a l’Cie? How did you end up in Oerba?”

“Don’t worry I was just about to start that enlightening story,” Chris said cheerfully. He reminded me of Snow in some ways.

“So, it all happened way back in Bodhum. You know the vestige, the one where Serah and Claire became l’Cie. Well it also branded me, way before anyone knew what it was. What I saw that night, when it branded me, it was like something from a dream. But I saw that town, Oerba. I researched for days, trying to find out where it was, but I couldn’t find anything. Eventually I decided that it must be down here, on Pulse, since I was a Pulse l’Cie after all.”

“How did you get down to Pulse, transport was forbidden back then as far as I know?” Fang asked.

“A good friend of mine was a pilot. He agreed to get me out of Cocoon. We were flying towards the giant hole in the framework when some strange, glowing shape appeared in front of us. We flew straight into it, and we appeared outside of Cocoon. Turns out it was a gate. So we landed below Cocoon, somewhere out there,” Chris pointed out to the plains of Pulse, “and I started my journey to find Oerba.”

It had started to rain. We hurried over to a small alcove and started a fire. Looks like we were gonna have to wait another day. Noel pulled out some bread and cheese from his knapsack.

Chris continued his story. “It took a while but I finally found Oerba. I located one of those weird crystal stones and it told me what had happened, about the War of Transgression and Ragnorok and such. I figured that it might have something to do with my focus, but I wasn’t sure. So I continued to look around the village, not sure what I was looking for. Eventually, I became angry, confused, and scared, because I couldn’t work out what I was meant to do. I thought I was gonna become a Cieth. That’s when my eidolin appeared.”

“Ifrit challenged me, and I thought that it was over, that I was going to die. However, I managed to tame the wild beast, and he became a good friend of mine. I was done looking through Oerba, so I journeyed on, through an extremely tall and strange tower that seemed to have no end. I narrowly managed to escape the Fal’cie that lived there. I wonder if it’s _still_ there.”

“No, we killed it,” said Fang with a smile.

“Well good job. It was a bit of an ass really. Anyway, I travelled on through this massive tunnel system, and I eventually made my way to this huge plain. It was like nothing I’d ever seen, monsters running around playfully everywhere, giant turtle like creatures, and that huge black thing. I had no idea what it was but I’ve never seen anything so big.”

“That was Titan, he was a Fal’cie, in charge of the ecosystem on Pulse,” Fang spoke again, mouth full of food.

“Well, Titan spoke to me. He said that he knew what I needed to do to complete my focus, and so he instructed me to complete his trials in order to become strong enough face the end of my focus.”

“So I did just that. Completed the trials, faced an immensely powerful Cieth at the end. It had this weird sword that would break, and then he would pull another one out of the mark on his chest. It was quite strange. Anyway, with the trials complete, Titan gave me this strange crystal-like stone, said it would unlock special properties within my sword. He then told me to return to Oerba, as something was waiting for me there.”

“The crystal stone, turned my weapon into what it is now. It used to just be this basic sword, no detail at all, just a boring black hilt and a silver blade. But now, it’s something else. Returning to Oerba, I came across a lot of Cieth. I battled my way to the beach, Ifrit at my side, and found the Primarch of Cocoon standing there, Galenth Dysley. I was incredibly confused. He explained to me that my focus was part of something much bigger, beyond anything I could ever have imagined. He told me I was to become Ragnorok and finish the job that a broken l’Cie couldn’t do five hundred years before.”

“I refused, and we fought. He turned into this massive white colossus and told me he was Fal’cie. It was a long battle, and in the end, Ifrit and Dysley had disappeared. Everything was dark, and I was alone. Then, a bright light appeared and said, ‘You are not required yet. Sleep, until the time is right.’ And that’s how I ended up here. I must have turned to crystal after that, and you know the rest.”

We all sat in silence, absorbing the information. Could this mean that there was something even more behind the plan to destroy Cocoon from a thousand years ago?

“Your mark though, it’s still active. Just like Fang’s many years ago. So that means you didn’t complete your focus fully. I wonder what it is that you have to do,” I said.

“That’s what I was wondering. Clearly, there’s a lot more to my existence than just this,” Chris said wonderingly. He munched on a piece of bread.

It was dark now, well past dusk, and the rain had only gotten stronger.

Fang yawned loudly, “Come on let’s get some rest. If we wake early tomorrow, we should be able to get to Luxerion tomorrow night.”

We all found a spot in our small space, and retired for the night. The others fell asleep almost instantly, but I was troubled. There was something strange about this, and I couldn’t wrap my head around it.


	8. Academia - Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- The City of Academia - FFXIII-2  
> \- March of the Dreadnaughts - FFXIII  
> \- Distant Light - Lightning Returns

I stepped on to the blue walkway and zipped over the seemingly bottomless pit in the middle of Academia. Cars zoomed in and around everything, everywhere. Hope, Sazh and Dajh were behind me on the walkway. Hope was happy to be back in Academia, and Sazh looked like he was going to be sick. I didn’t blame him, these walkways were pretty unnerving. Dajh, unlike his father, was peering over the edge down to the bottom of the city, completely unfazed by the staggering height.

Serah, Lightning and Vanille were across the other side of town, looking for a wedding dress. I was meant to be looking for a suit for myself, but I was too distracted by the huge city. Only Hope and Serah had been here enough too not care too much about the scenery, and Sazh had seen bits of it as a pilot.

We hopped off the walkway and proceeded into Grand Avenue, looking through the countless shops for something to wear to the wedding. In light of the terrible vision that Yeul had of the gods, Sazh suggested that the wedding should still go on, otherwise we would find ourselves stuck in a rut trying to figure out how to beat the three gods. We all agreed, but I knew there was another reason he was thinking of, it just wasn’t the right time to share that reason. I knew he was thinking it because I was thinking it, and probably everyone else too. What if one of us died?

Banishing the dark thought from my head, I walked into a tailors and started browsing for a good suit. I found some pretty good ones. Black with a navy blue tie. A deep red, with an also deep red tie and a white undershirt. A dark grey with a dark spring green tie. I pointed this one out to Hope, who took it to try on with minimal interest. _Just like a normal teenage boy, never wanting to try on clothes_. However it was then that I found the perfect suit for me. Jet black, azure trimmings and a matching tie.

Ten minutes later and the four of us had left the store. Sazh had found a nice black suit with a burgundy tie, and he’d gotten the same for Dajh, but in a smaller size. Hope had bought the suit that I suggested. With our main goal achieved, we walked around Grand Avenue looking at all kinds of electronics, furniture, and pets. It was hard to disagree with Hope when he said we should get a dog. I had been eying a beautiful husky with bright blue eyes. But I thought better, and told Hope that we should probably talk it through with Serah and Light first. Hope agreed, though he looked a bit annoyed.

We were to meet up with the girls at two o’clock. It was half past twelve at the moment.

“How about we go get some lunch, then start heading back to the middle afterwards to meet up with the girls?” I suggested.

“Sounds good, I’m starving,” said Sazh

“Yeah, me too,” said Dajh eagerly.

“What about you Hope?” I looked over at him. He was deep in thought.

“I’m not hungry. I’ll just… I’ll just keep looking around for a bit.”

“Ok, but if we’re not here when you get back, head up to the meeting place and we should be there.” I said.

“Ok, see you soon,” Hope said, and he walked off.

The circumstances were suspicious, but I thought nothing off it. He was probably going to the Academy headquarters. I didn’t blame him really, since he pretty much owned the building.

After lunch, the three of us started to head over to the meeting place, walking slowly to take in the sights and chew up a bit of extra time. The city really was a spectacular place. Quicker than we had planned, we found ourselves already at the meeting place. Hope was already there, sitting on a bench. He came up to meet us.

“So where did you head off to?” I asked him.

“Oh, nowhere, I just wanted to have another look around,” he said with a smile.

“Fairo, look here come the girls.”

Serah, Lightning and Vanille came over, all carrying bags and laughing. Light had regained some strength after her little anger trip yesterday, but was still walking pretty slowly.

“How’d you guys go?” Serah asked.

“Fine, we all got suits and stuff, had a look around and ate some lunch.” I didn’t mention Hope, because I didn’t want Light to overhear and start worrying.

“So you’re not going to be wearing some stupid cloak to this are you,” Lightning said sarcastically, “because I swear to god if you wear a stupid cloak to my sister’s wedding, I will personally smash you in front of the crowd.”

“Don’t worry I got something nice, no cloak I swear,” I said, laughing.

“Let me see,” and she snatched my bag and had a look inside.

“Good, you’re actually going to dress appropriately.”

“Well yeah I’m not stupid,” I said, causing Light to scoff loudly. “At least I’m not wearing a dress.”

Lightning’s face turned a darker shade of pink then her hair, and she walked off to speak with Hope, muttering something about killing me in my sleep.

“So shall we head off back home then?” Vanille said. I don’t think she particularly liked the crowded atmosphere of the city, but she didn’t say anything about it.

We boarded a train back to Luxerion, arriving at about four. Stretching, we walked back to our house. Arriving inside, I dumped my bags on the table and Serah started preparing dinner for the seven of us. About fifteen minutes later there was a knock on the door. I went over and opened it. Fang, Noel and Yeul stood there. “Come on in,” I said, “Serah, you might have to start cooking for three more.”

“Four, actually,” said Noel.

I turned and saw another person. He had light brown hair and pale blue eyes. I had no idea who he was. “Who are you?” I asked.

“Christopher Farron, call me Chris. I was told my daughters lived here,” the man said.

“Daughters?” I asked, shocked.

Lightning, who was just fresh from a shower and was putting her towel back, came to the door to ask what was going on. She greeted Fang, Noel and Yeul, then turned to Chris. Light dropped her towel and moved forwards slightly. “You can’t be… No it’s not…”

“Claire, it’s alright, I’ll explain everything,” Chris said soothingly.

A huge smile broke across Light’s face, something I’d never seen before. She sprang forward and hugged Chris with a passion I’d also never seen before.

I was so confused.

 

 


	9. Last Resort - Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Lost Hope - FFXIII

I sped along through the maze of walkways and crowds of people, making a beeline for the Academy headquarters. More than a few times I stumbled trying to get there as quick as I could. I jumped down the steps three at a time, and sprinted towards the front doors.

I flung them open, and ran straight over to the next door. I placed my hand on the fingerprint scanner, and the doors creaked open. Quickly getting inside before the door closed, I noticed something. There was no one here. The building was empty. _What did you expect,_ said a voice in my head. The research facility was black. What once was filled with people and green computer light was now cold and black.

“Fire,” I said, and a small flame appeared in my hand. Easing my pace and relaxing a little, I walked over to the computer and started typing quickly. It asked for a password. I typed in Nora. On the other side of the room I heard the faint click of the vault I just opened. I walked around the side, noticing that most of the computers had been smashed and destroyed. I shivered. It was quite cold in hear, even with the flame next to me.

I climbed on one of the desks to reach the vault, and shone my flame up to it. There were deep claw marks embedded in the black metal. _Strange_ , I thought. Struggling with the effort, I pulled the door open, and laid my eyes on the contents. Inside were three extremely powerful weapons, made from chaos crystals long ago, there was one for me, Serah, and Noel. I pulled out mine. The boomerang shone the darkest of blacks, with golden trimmings. As I pulled it out to look, electricity and chaos shimmered on the black metal. There was a pair of gloves on the floor of the vault as well, and I grabbed them and slipped them on, not remembering why I would need them. I grabbed Serah’s weapon too. She would need a weapon, since Mog had gone back with all our eidolins. It resembled the sword that would use, and at the flick of my wrist, it changed into a bow. Noel already had his weapon, and I think he was quite content to keep it forever, so I left his there.

I looked around again, and saw something. It was a picture of mum and dad. I picked it up and studied it closely, taking in every detail. Pocketing the picture, I closed the vault door and started to head back towards the door when a low growl filled the room. I tensed, waiting, trying to hear where the beast would come from. A huge force ploughed into me from behind, and I accidently casted thundara, which helped, because all of the unbroken technology suddenly turned on and the room brightened, showing what had attacked me.

A bulky, blue and silver behemoth was standing on the other side of the room, blinded by the sudden outburst of light. The behemoth must’ve been here the whole time, since the chaos erupted. The Academy had created it, a man-made behemoth. Contained in this little space, the behemoth had been driven into insanity. “I would to,” I thought aloud.

The monster reared onto its two hind legs, and pulled a magnificent sword from is back, roaring as it did so.

“Well, time to see if this thing works,” and I grunted as I threw my boomerang at the behemoth. It flew straight into the behemoths neck, and decapitated the monster. The boomerang arched back towards me and I shouted and held my free hand up in a feeble attempt to block the upcoming shredding.

To my surprise, the boomerang landed in my hand. _So this is what the gloves are for._ Heart pounding and head spinning, I exited the research facility. I folded the boomerang and pocketed it, and with my other hand, flicked my wrist, and the bow disappeared for the time being. I also took the gloves off. Didn’t want Snow and the others to get suspicious, for now.

I glanced at my watch. Quarter to two. Quickly, I ran out the door and sprinted up to the meeting place.


	10. People I Never Knew - Serah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Wish - FFXIII-2  
> \- Promised Eternity - FFXIII

Claire walked into the room with a man I’d never seen before, although it felt like I knew him. She had the biggest smile on her face. Snow, Fang, Noel and Yeul walked in behind them. Lucky I made some extra food. “Who’s this, Claire?” I asked, puzzled.

“This is, uhh, this… Serah this is our father.”

I dropped the pan I was holding. Luckily, Snow was already there to catch it. He and Noel took over the kitchen while I stood there in shock. Hope had heard Claire and turned around from his spot on the couch, hardly daring to believe what he saw. “Your joking, right?” I asked Claire.

“Nope.” She said, still smiling.

I looked at the man. There were likenesses between him and me and Claire. But I still wasn’t sure.

“Ohhh, you’ve never seen dad before. I forgot how young you were when he…” Claire looked up at the man. “Where have you been?”

“I’ll get to that. Serah, come sit down with Claire and I. I’ll explain everything.”

And so I sat down with my supposed father, and he told us how he became a l’cie, left home, wandered Gran Pulse in an effort to figure out his focus, and went head-to-head with Barthandelus. He showed Claire his sword, which she took and breathed “No way,” clearly remembering the sword from when she was just a child.

Eventually, I started to come by, realising that this man was our father. Dinner was finished and prepared by Noel and Snow, and we ate while Claire and I told Dad everything. We talked about Gran Pulse, about my time travelling journey with Noel, about Claire’s job as the guardian of Etro, and her role as the saviour. We talked about how she and the others slayed Orphan, as well as Barthandelus, and made the connections between their two journeys.

Finally, the time came to tell Dad something else. “Also, Dad, I’m getting married.”

“Really!? Serah, that’s awesome news. To who?”

I gestured at Snow next to me, hoping that Dad would like him. Snow turned red, hoping that Dad would like him.

“You seem-“ Dad began, before Claire interrupted.

“Dad, before you say anything, I just want to let you know that Snow is one of the bravest people I’ve known. Stupid, and infuriatingly annoying, but brave. He’ll do anything to protect Serah, and by extension, all of us.”

Snow stared at Claire, lost for words. Claire sank back into her chair and continued to eat, a little stunned herself at what she’d just said. I looked at Dad.

“Well I’ll take your word for it, Claire.” He looked over at Snow. “Snow, welcome to the family.”

Snow was burning now. I laughed, and hit him to bring him back to earth. “Thanks, Mr Farron.”

‘Call me Chris.”

At the other end of the table, Hope, Sazh and Vanille, had all just gasped abruptly. “Are you sure?” asked Hope.

“Well, we’re not positive, but it sure looks that way,” Noel said.

He looked over at us, realising we were listening. “Don’t let us spoil your moment, we’ll tell you tomorrow.” I looked at him, trying to get an answer, but he looked away and started talking with Sazh.

We stayed up late. Claire kept telling Dad about all the fierce and tough monsters she’d defeated, and vice-versa. I had started to doze off, when those who didn’t live here started to leave. I went to say goodbye to everyone, including Dad, who said he would stay at the hotel just down the road, since we didn’t have enough room to accommodate him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?” asked Claire, “Serah can sleep with me and Hope can sleep with Snow, then you can take Hope’s bed,” she suggested.

“Nah, it’s alright. I’ll see you in the morning.” And with that, Dad left. Claire closed the door, beaming.

“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it.” She kissed me on the cheek, hugged Hope so tightly I thought his eyes might have popped out, and managed to jump high enough to grab Snow’s head and give him a knuckle sandwich.

“Aha, I can’t believe this is happening,” she said, practically skipping towards her room. She shut the door, and we all looked at each other.

“That really hurt,” said Snow. Hope and I laughed, though Hope sounded a little wheezy. He was still recovering from the hug.

“Come on, let’s go to bed, we’re gonna need some sleep,” I said, and we shuffled off to our rooms.

I lay in bed, thinking about Dad and Claire, and the wedding. But then a thought struck my mind. What was it that had made Hope, Sazh and Vanille gasp that loudly? Then I remembered what Snow had said about Mwynn and the other gods. About them coming for us. Dad wasn’t here by mistake, or pure coincidence. There had to be a reason, and a good one at that. I fell asleep, and had dreams of a towering figure, flanked by two slightly smaller ones.


	11. Empire of One - Chris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- The Sunleth Waterscape - FFXIII  
> \- All The World Against Us - FFXIII

I never thought that I’d see my daughters again, but here I am eating breakfast with them, Hope, and Snow. The wedding was looming upon us. One more day and my youngest would be a married woman. Claire was ecstatic because of my return. Hope told me that he’d never seen her so happy, and that it was like looking at a completely different person.

It was also a little shocking to see my daughters all grown up. Serah was a spitting image of my wife, Amelia. She and Claire had told me what had befallen Amelia, and it didn’t shock me as much as I thought it would. I guess I already knew somehow, but I just had to hear it, so that my mind could truly register what happened. Besides, now wasn’t the time to be mourning her death from a thousand years ago. It was time to celebrate this wedding, and I’ve been hearing that it is quite overdue.

Claire and Serah showed me around town, pointing out their favourite clothing shops, the best bars and restaurants, weapon shops and the many landmarks located around Luxerion. A bit later, Sazh and Vanille came around, and Sazh took me to find a good suit for the wedding. We talked about being fathers, and I found that we shared a lot in common. His wife had also passed away, and he had been forced to raise Dajh on his own. I also found out that the good friend who had taken me to Pulse all those years ago, was actually his father.

I talked with Vanille, Fang, Noel, and Yeul about life on Gran Pulse. They shared many stories of taking down huge monsters, gathering flowers from all around Pulse, discovering long lost artefacts and items, gathering more flowers, life next to a Fal’cie, and more flowers. Vanille really liked flowers. Noel shared his story about being the last human alive, while Yeul told me all about being a Seeress, something that I realised I must be a descendent of somehow, since Serah had apparently been one too.

Hope showed me his mastery of magic. Even I didn’t have that much power within me, and I was still a l’Cie. Claire even told me that he was the sole reason she had managed to get where they were now, causing Hope’s face to go sunset red. He told me all about how his mother had died, how he’d blamed Snow for a long time, but Claire had helped him see reason. He also told me about how Claire looked out for him like a mother, and that it had really helped him during his time as a l’Cie, and when she had taken to looking after him after Bhunivelze had been killed.

It was a great little family that they had here, and I was pretty happy to be a part of it. Later that night, Claire took me out to the wildlands to spar. She got the better of me quite a few times, and I was amazed at how good her fighting skills were. But then a Reaver decided to crash the party.

“I’ve got this,” Claire said, smirking.

And then, incredibly, she became a blindingly fast, red blur. She zipped around the Reaver, and it staggered backwards with each hit, until Claire finally rose into the air, and came down with a force so strong she could have made a small earthquake. Beams of light rose into the air, and I looked down at the Reaver to see that it was no more. “What do you think of that,” called Claire.

“It was excellent,” I said, not letting in on the surprise I was about to show her.

She smiled, and then an Astor Protoflorian stumbled out from behind her. “My turn,” I said.

I walked past Claire, and I plunged my sword into the ground. Two exact copies of myself appeared next to me. I grinned. They grinned. I sped forward towards that Protoflorian, just like Claire had, except the blur that I was, was blue instead of red. The two copies and I slashed the Protoflorian everywhere, to the point where it started rising off the ground. Claire stood there, jaw open and sword held loosely in her hand. I raised up into the air. My two copies did the same, and we came down on the Protoflorian with our swords raised. A triple beam of pure light cascaded upon the monster, and it disintegrated in the force of the blast.

I walked over to Claire, whose mouth was still wide open fro, watching me perform my ultimate ability. “I call it Empire of One,” I said, grinning at Claire’s shocked face.

Claire finally seemed to regain a little control. “That was pretty impressive,” she said.

“Glad you think so, come on, let’s head back.”

We got back home and had dinner. Noel and Yeul were here tonight. The roast chicken that Serah had cooked up was mouth-watering and tender, so everyone ate in silence as they savoured their food as much as possible.

After dinner, Noel was the first to talk. “Guys, we need to show you something.” He pulled out the green thing that he called an Oracle Drive. Claire, Serah and Snow all gasped.

“Where did you get that?” asked Snow.

“In Oerba,” replied Yeul.

Noel placed it on the table and then activated it. It showed a picture. There was a huge towering figure, and four people in front of it. One was lying on the floor, another kneeling over them. The other two were standing behind them, clearly unsure of what to do. Then the picture disappeared. Everybody sat in silence

“What does it mean?” Claire asked suddenly.

“It means that Mwynn has returned. Clearly the events in the next few days, weeks, months, maybe even years, will lead up to this point. Someone is going to die,” said Yeul bitterly. “Claire, given your turmoils with the gods, I think you’ll be part of the four. As well as you, Chris.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You told us that when you battled Barthandelus and turned into crystal you heard a voice that told you your time would come. I believe that you were awoken from crystal stasis at this time for a reason, it’s not a coincidence.”

“But what could I possibly have to do with the gods?” I asked.

“Who knows, maybe your new focus is to kill Mwynn,” said Noel.

Everyone fell silent. _What if that is my new focus,_ I thought.

‘Enough,” said Claire, “We can discuss this more after the wedding. Right now, we should just enjoy the excitement and get ready for tomorrow.”

“Agreed,” Snow said, “Well, I’ll head over to Sazh’s, since y’know, not allowed to see the bride before the ceremony.” He walked over to Serah and gave her a quick kiss, then went to the door. “Seeya tomorrow.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow as well,” said Noel, and he and Yeul left.

“I’ll sleep with Serah,” said Claire, “Dad you can have my bed for the night.”

“Ok” I said.

Claire went into Serah and Snows room, and I heard a bit of shuffling before she flopped onto the bed and started snoring.

“Goodnight guys,” said Hope sleepily, and he went off to his room.

"Well, goodnight,” I said to Serah. I walked up to her and hugged her. “You make me proud, you know that.” She looked up and smiled.

“Now, go to bed, you’re gonna need a lot of rest. Trust me, I know,” I said, winking.

Serah smiled and walked over to her room, closing the door. I headed over to Claire’s room, undressed, and fell into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.


	12. The Wedding - Lightning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Test of the L'Cie - FFXIII  
> \- Promised Eternity - FFXIII  
> \- The Promise - FFXIII

It was incredibly hot, and I could feel my skin burning in the bright sun. I walked quietly along with Fang, Vanille and Yeul, feet incredibly sore. These heels are torture, and I could see that Fang was in just as much pain as me. Snow had stifled his laugh when he saw me in my white dress. I was so close to just getting up and punching him, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Serah was there, I would’ve, so I decided I’d wait till after when I could take my stupid heels off. There was a lot of people here. Snow was still patron, so pretty much the whole of Yusnaan and Luxerion were here.

Dad walked with Serah, looking very smart in his suit of midnight blue with a matching tie, but it was Serah that stole the show. She was wearing a long white wedding dress that seemed to glitter and shine unnaturally as she walked along the aisle. I took a seat in the front row of chairs, taking my heels off so I could rub my feet. Serah walked up to Snow, both beaming with happiness.

“Love is the reason we are here. In marriage…” the priest began. I wasn’t paying attention though as it was boiling hot, and there was something strange happening. The sky seemed to be shuddering. Oh, wait a second, that’s just the air because it’s so hot. I looked around at the boys sitting in the front row. Noel, Sazh, Dajh, looked happy and carefree, but it was Hope that caught my attention. He looked anxious, and there was a hint of fear in his eyes. I tried desperately to get his attention, without bringing attention of everyone at the wedding to me. But he couldn’t see me.

“Snow Villiers and Serah Farron, I remind you that marriage is a precious gift, a lifelong…” the priest continued.

It was like being in a furnace. I waved the wedding procedure lightly as a fan. My bum was stuck to the chair from the heat. It was really uncomfortable.

“I do,” Snow said. I started to pay attention.

“Serah Farron, with this understanding do you take Snow Villiers to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honour and keep him, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others and to be faithful only to him, so long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” Serah said happily.

“May I have the rings please?” said the priest.

I looked over at Hope, he was talking hurriedly to Noel, and there was a look of extreme concern on both their faces. I still couldn’t catch Hope’s eyes though.

“Snow Villiers, as you place this ring on Serah Farron’s finger, repeat these words after me: This ring, a gift for you...”

“This ring, a gift for you…”

“Symbolizes my desire…”

“Symbolizes my desire…”

“That you be my wife…”

“That you be my wife…”

“From this day forward.”

“From this day forward.”

“As this ring has no end…”

“As this ring has no end…”

“Neither shall my love for you.”

“Neither shall my love for you.”

Snow slipped the golden ring onto Serah’s finger. They both beamed at each other. Serah repeated the lines that Snow said, except saying husband instead of wife, and placed another golden ring on his finger.

“Snow and Serah, in your journey of life together, remind yourselves often…”

Fang whispered in my ear, “Light, Pulse is here. The shimmering air is because of him. Hope has a cache with all our weapons in the back. No point trying to get to Pulse now though, he can’t be seen at the moment, we have to wait for him to attack first.”

I looked around at what I thought was heat. Now that I thought about it, there were clouds in the sky, causing what would be an overcast, grim looking day. The sun wasn’t even in sight. It must’ve been Pulse causing the heat.

“Snow and Serah, you have consented together in holy matrimony, have pledged your vows to each other, and have exchanged rings as tokens of your love and commitment to each other. With great pleasure and joy, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Snow and Serah proceeded to kiss, but a giant axe swung down between them, blocking their path. People started screaming, and chaos ensued as they ran about trying to get away.

“LIGHT!” I turned around as Hope threw my sword towards me. I caught it and jumped in the air, spinning down towards Serah and Snow as the axe moved up again, ready to strike a second time.

“Snow! Get Serah out of here now!” I shouted at him.

The axe went for Serah, and I lunged towards it, parrying it with my own blade. I held my sword there long enough for Serah to get out the way, then broke the lock between our weapons and flung myself at the space that Pulse was occupying. I crashed into what I though was his chest, and rebounded down onto the ground.

Pulse materialised in front of me, tall and looming, with a look of pure venom. He wasn’t as big at Bhunivelze, but he was still something. He had gears, as though he was just a machine, wrapped around his arms, and a tail made of the same material as the gears. Half his face was obstructed by what was unmistakably hair, and his one visible eye was glowing a bright orange.

Pulse summoned a ball of flame in his hand and threw it at me. A black boomerang sliced through the air, and cut straight through the fireball. It disappeared in a flash, and Fang jumped over my head, slicing at Pulse’s hand with her spear. Pulse reared back in pain, and kicked out at Fang, catching her in mid-air. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

I raised my sword as the axe fell on me again, blocking with ferocity. I turned the axe downwards with a flick of my wrist, and jumped on Pulse’s exposed arm, running quickly up towards his face. On the other arm, I saw Noel, with his two swords flashing, cutting ruthlessly into Pulse’s flesh. I reached the shoulder and jumped, slicing Pulse below his eye, and passing Noel as he did the same. We landed on the ground, thick green blood cascading down with us. Sazh fired at the god with his pistols, but to no effect. The bullets just bounced off of Pulse’s thick hide. He put the guns away, and started firing balls of fire towards Pulse. I saw Dad run up towards the god, and he jumped, plunging his sword into the beast’s chest, and then pulling out again as Pulse swatted at him. Blood spurted out from the wound, coating the ceremonial area in green.

“Ready, Claire!” Dad called, and he started to shine a bright blue, and the clones I had seen the day before stood before me again. I readied myself, red electricity pulsing around me and lunged forward with unwavering speed. Dad did the same, and we attacked Pulse viciously. Pulse staggered back with each hit, trying to hit as out of the air, but it was no use, we were too quick. Dad and I landed on the ground. We stared up at Pulse, right into his eyes. I could see the fear. Suddenly, a strange tentacle shot out from underneath his hand and wrapped around my ankle, tripping me over and knocking my head on the ground with a large crack. I tried to stand up, dazed, feeling warm blood trickle down my cheek and clouding my vision. I felt Dad wipe the blood off my face as best he could, and a pleasant feeling spread through my body as someone cast a cure spell. Hope and Dad lifted me to my feet, and I looked around as Serah strode out of her hiding place, bow in hand, and Snow trailing behind her trying to tell her to come back.

Serah looked menacing. Her eyes were filled with rage. Her hair was a mess and her dress was torn at the leg.

“YOU COME HERE, EXPECTING TO WIPE US ALL OUT! YOU COME HERE AND RUIN MY WEDDING! I’VE WAITED ONE THOUSAND YEARS FOR THIS, AND STILL YOU STUPID FUCKING GODS TORMENT ME! I’VE HAD IT!” Every sentence was another arrow in Pulse’s chest.

“YOU HAVE RUINED MY HAIR, MY DRESS, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF MY LIFE! YOU KNOCK OUT ONE OF MY BRIDESMAIDS, AND YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO GO AND TRIP MY SISTER WITH SOME COWARDLY TRICK! WELL YOU CAN PISS OFF BACK TO YOUR GRANDMOTHER, AND TELL HER I WILL NOT HAVE THIS ANYMORE. I’M DONE WITH THIS SHIT!” Serah pulled back five arrows at once, and released them all at the faltering god. The tips were embedded with a golden flame and they pierced straight through Pulse.

Then he spoke. “You’ve lost. I may die today, but know this. Every time one of us dies, you make her stronger. You have lost.” The voice was deep and raspy.

I pulled myself out of Hope and Dad’s grip and walked forward. “We’ll risk it,” I said, and I threw my sword like a knife towards his heart. Pulse’s face slackened, and the life left his body.

I turned to the rest of the group. Noel had a cut above his left eye. Fang was being held up by Vanille, who had come from the hiding place as well as Dajh and Yeul. Sazh had rushed over to Dajh to ask if he was alright. Snow had his arm around Serah, who was still looking at Pulse with suppressed fury. Dad had gone over to Serah to ask if she was okay. I looked at Hope and his black boomerang.

“Where did you get that?” I asked him.

“Academy headquarters. Went there secretly when we were in Academia the other day. Got Serah’s weapon as well. Thought they might come in useful,” he replied.

“And the weapons cache?”

“I had a feeling something bad was gonna happen today. Seemed like the perfect day for one of the God’s to strike.”

“Well, aren’t we lucky that someone’s on the ball.” I ruffled his silver hair, and he swatted me away playfully.

“Hey, Light.” It was Noel. “You’re the god killer. Come tell these two they can kiss or something, otherwise Serah’s gonna start attacking that dead body.”

Everyone laughed, and Serah broke out of her little trance. “Snow, you may now kiss the bride,” I said. Snow and Serah kissed, finally sealing that which had been promised what seemed like an eternity ago.

 

 


	13. Biodiversity - Fang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Missing Link - FFXIII-2  
> \- The Story So Far... - FFXIII-2

I lay in bed, still resting from being knocked out yesterday. Vanille had told me what happened after I got hit, and I must say, I was pretty impressed. From the sounds of it, Serah was pretty pissed off, but she had a right to be really.

The body of Pulse was still lying there as far as I knew, and it would probably be a while before anyone could work out how they were going to get rid of it. There was another problem too. People had reported that monsters were starting to become out of control. More varieties were popping up around the land, including weird mutations.

Light had come around this morning, and asked if I wanted to join a security regiment for dealing with the monsters. She was quite pleased when I agreed, and I could tell that she was ecstatic at the prospect of actually getting to do something useful now. So starting tomorrow I would be out in the field, driving back the monsters and their mutations.

*

Lightning stood beside me, giving out orders and placing people on patrol around different parts of the city. She was in her element. A lot of people had turned up considering the news of the new security regiment had only been around for less than a day. There was about sixteen people in all, eighteen including Lightning and I. She sent two to patrol the commercial district, two on each gate leading to the forsaken graveyard, four in the warren, two at north station, two at south station, two in the residences, and another two in the old town. I was sent to patrol the cathedral and the holy district. Lightning would be walking around town, making sure there were no problems and checking that everyone was doing their jobs properly.

I bagged quite a few monsters that day. Lightning was right about the increase in the monster population. I killed three Niblets, a Goblin, two Gremlins, and a strange mutation between a Gorgonopsid and a Niblet. I’d never seen something so strange looking in my life. Furthermore, it was actually pretty difficult to defeat, as if the powers of the two creatures had been infused as well as their bodies, and also got some sort of power increase. I made a mental note to tell Light later.

Another ten people had asked Light if they could join up during the day, so that sorted out night shifts for us. Plus the order was still around as well, though in limited numbers, so that helped as well. So at five o’clock, I went back to my place to have a shower and get changed, then went with Vanille over to Light’s for dinner.

Serah still seemed to have a little bit of anger left in her from yesterday, so Snow and Hope were treading water whenever they asked her a question about dinner. Hope told me he had actually seen Serah like this before when she was travelling with Noel through time. Apparently, Hope had created a proto Fal’cie in order to re-levitate Cocoon, but it had ended up killing him and then trapping Serah and Noel in a chicken and the egg paradox. Serah had gotten so angry that she had yelled at Hope while fighting the Fal’cie, and it had appeared in an Oracle Drive found in the Yachas Massif.

I thought the whole ordeal was rather hilarious, sitting at the table and watching Hope and Snow getting snapped at whenever they did something wrong. Serah didn’t snap at me or Vanille, which made it even funnier, and when Light came home, she also seemed to find it pretty funny. I told Light about the mutation I had fought.

“Yeah, I saw one of them too,” she said, pouring herself some beer and letting her hair down, “I think it was a cross between a Goblin and a Niblet. It was pretty strong as well, like the one you fought.”

Hope, who was listening intently, spoke up. “It must have something to do with Pulse dying. After Titan died, Pulse must’ve taken charge of the biodiversity and the other biological aspects of the world. So without him keeping it level, the monsters population is increasing, and they’re mating with other species, causing the mutations.”

“Spoken like a true scientist,” said Snow, who’d just joined the table.

‘That’s because I am one,” said Hope.

“We’ll have to inform the Order about all this. We’re gonna be needed in other places, like the Wildlands and Dead Dunes. Could you imagine if another Aeronite spawned? It would be hell, especially if it managed to mutate with something else,” I said.

“Yeah, I’ll let them know in the morning,” Light said.

“And we need to give the mutations names as well,” said Vanille excitedly.

“No, we don’t,” said Light.

“Yes, we do. We can call the one that Fang killed a Gorgonoplit, and the one that you killed a Goblit.”

“We already have Goblots, that’ll just confuse people,” said Snow.

“Then we can call it a Niblin,” said Vanille, her eyes twinkling. To her it seemed, a cross between a Niblet and anything was the most adorable thing ever.

“Snow, can you get some flyers put up for anybody willing to join the regiment in Yusnaan tomorrow?” Light asked.

“Sure thing, sis.”

“I’m not your- Oh, wait,” Light said disappointingly.

“Don’t sound so upset, sis,” Serah said, laughing as she sat down at the table. “Dinner will be twenty minutes, it’s just cooking.”

“Ha, you can’t tell me that you’re not my sister anymore,” Snow said, laughing as well.

Snow and Light continued to bicker until dinner was put on the table. The rest of us sat there, listening with great interest to their conversation, which was pretty funny as they sniped each other. Serah looked like she wanted to stop it, but she looked around at everyone’s faces as we laughed at Snow and Light’s quarrel, and decided against it, smiling a little herself at the insults.

After eating dinner, Vanille and I said goodbye to Light, Hope, Snow and Serah, and walked back to our house.

“Are you worried, Fang,” Vanille burst out.

“About what?” I asked.

“About this battle with the God’s? What if Lindzei appears, and we kill him as well, and it causes some other problem to befall upon the world?”

“I’m a bit worried, but it’s nothing we can’t handle,” I said to Vanille, “Trust me, if it comes down to killing Lindzei as well, then we’ll do it. We’ll find a way to handle whatever happens afterwards, and then we’ll move on to Mwynn. Mwynn doesn’t have any influence over us anymore, so that won’t cause any problems either. It’ll be fine.”

“I guess you’re right. But I just can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen,” Vanille said, shivering in the sudden cold that had enveloped the area.

“Yeah, I’ve got that feeling too. It’s something to do with that Oracle drive, I bet.” I shivered as well. Why had it gotten so cold?

As we reached our doorstep, something dropped lightly on my head. I brushed it off my head and Vanille gasped. She was staring at the thing that had dropped of my head. I looked down and saw a snowflake.

“Why is it snowing, it’s the middle of summer?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Remember what Hope said, Fang. He said that the biodiversity had been affected by Pulse’s death. So it’s affected the weather as well.”

“Well that’s just great isn’t it. Snow in the middle of summer,” I said.

I opened the door and walked in side, turning on the heater as I did so, because it was extremely cold in here as well, and went to bed, thinking about what Vanille had said, and wondering what could happen if Lindzei died as well.


	14. Getting Away - Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- A Brief Respite - FFXIII

I stood waiting in the living room with my suitcase by my side waiting. _Why do girls always take so long to pack?_ I wondered. Light walked into the room, half-asleep and hair a mess, and poured herself some coffee. “So how long are you gonna be gone?” She said, sitting down and yawning loudly.

“A couple of weeks,” I replied.

Serah and I were gonna spend our honeymoon in New Bodhum for a week, and then move over to Pompilius for the second week. Pompilius is like the new version of Nautilus, situated not too far from the old cocoon, a little north west of Academia. Light didn’t think it was a good idea, with everything that was going on, but she couldn’t convince Serah to wait until after everything had been dealt with. “What if this doesn’t get dealt with for years,” Serah had said, and that shut Lightning up.

Serah came out with her bags. She was dressed for a week out in the sun. I heard Light mutter “Shorts that short should be illegal,” which I found quite funny. True, Serah was wearing some extremely short shorts, but I wasn’t complaining. Hope came out of his room, poured himself some juice, and sat down at the table with Light.

“Are you ready?” I asked Serah.

“Yep,” she replied.

She went over to Hope and kissed him on the forehead, then went over and hugged Light, assuring her that we would be fine. Serah then practically bounded out the door, leaving me to carry her things. “Well, seeya champ,” I said to Hope. He waved back.

“Seeya, Light,” I said, and headed towards the door, before feeling a tug on my arm. It was Light.

“If anything happens to her I swear to –“

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this sorted out, alright,” and I told her about how Caius had given me the power of l’Cie, something I’d neglected to mention earlier.

Light seemed a little shocked at first but then Serah’s voice carried from up the street. “Come on, Snow, why are you so slow?” she shouted.

“Go,” Light said, “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, send me a letter or a text or something when you get there, and when you get to Pompilius too, otherwise, have fun,” she said with a smirk.

“All right. Seeya, Light,” and I hobbled over to Serah with all the luggage. “You know, it’s quite cold, can you chuck me a jumper?” She asked.

“Yeah, sure,” I gave her a jumper, and then realised myself how cold it was. It was still early in the morning, the sun wasn’t even up yet, so I guess that’s why. But as we walked up the street, passing a street light, I noticed that the ground was white. I went over a touched it, and recoiled in shock at how cold it was. The ground was covered in snow.

“Why is it snowing?” Serah said.

“I don’t know,” I replied.

I hurried back to the house with Serah and knocked on the door. Light opened it and greeted us with, “Wow, that’s the quickest honeymoon I’ve ever heard of. Serah, is he that disappointing?” then she noticed the snow outside.

“Hope, come here,” she said, with a hint of panic. Hope ambled up next to Light and stared at the snow. I pushed past with Serah and started repacking my bags with some warmer clothes and hurried back to the door, pushing back past Light, Hope and now Chris who had come over to say goodbye.

“Seeya again guys,” I said, and Serah and I started back up the street, now ten minutes late. We ran up to the train station, shaking the snow that had started falling out of our hair, and got on the train to New Bodhum just in time. Serah flopped down onto the seat and laughed. “Well that was an eventful start,” she said airily, patting the seat next to her for me to sit down. I put the luggage on the rack above us and sat down, putting my arm around Serah.

“Couldn’t get any worse could it,” I said, and Serah laughed again. We peered out the window as we left the confines of Luxerion, and were shocked to see that it was now raining instead of snowing. Just then, Serah’s phone buzzed and she answered. I could hear Hope’s voice. Serah nodded, and then said, “Yeah, we just left Luxerion and it pouring down with rain now. We’ll tell you what the weathers like when we reach New Bodhum.” She said goodbye, and put the phone away.

“So what’s happening?” I asked her.

“Remember what Hope said last night about the monster mutations and how the biodiversity was ruined without Pulse to hold it steady? Well, he reckons that it’s also affected the weather, which means we could get something different at New Bodhum to what we expected,” Serah explained.

“Well that’s a little annoying,” I said.

“Yeah, but it’ll make it a bit more interesting I guess,” Serah said, shrugging, “Anyway, it doesn’t matter, we’ve got two weeks to ourselves, let’s make the most of it.”

“Ok, but first I’m having a little sleep, because it’s six in the morning and I want to not be tired when we get there,” I said.

And I fell asleep.


	15. Mother or Sister? - Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Luxerion (Morning Theme) - Lightning Returns  
> \- A Brief Respite - FFXIII

Sometimes I wonder if Light is more of my mother or my sister. I mean, maybe she’s a motherly sister. I can’t really tell for sure, since I’ve never had a sister. She acts like a mother that’s for sure, but sometimes she acts so immaturely I wonder whether she’s broken or something. It might have something to do with Snow and Serah out of the house. It’s been two days now, and just now, Light and I had been watching the television, when she threw a pillow at me, giggled, and then ran into her room. I’m kinda confused at the moment.

So, I went over and picked up the pillow, and snuck over to Light’s room, stopping just outside the door with the pillow ready. I waited for about five minutes, and then I heard Light’s soft footsteps coming out the door, and I swung the pillow around, hitting Light right in the gut with it. She doubled over and I dropped the pillow and ran. I could hear Light running behind me, panting slightly from the hit. I laughed and dodged around the couch and looked at Light. She was smiling malevolently, but playfully at the same time.

Before I could react, she jumped over the couch and tackled me to the ground, knocking the coffee table to the side. I tried to push her off but she was to strong, and started tickling me. I laughed and wriggled around, trying to escape, but I couldn’t. Eventually, I started tickling her back, and she rolled off me, laughing hard. I didn’t know Light was so ticklish. I tickled her some more, until tears started rolling down her cheeks, and then I backed off, feeling a little light headed from all the laughing.

Light sat up, cross legged, “That was fun,” she said happily.

“You know, sometimes I wonder whether you’re more of a mother or sister,” I said, laughing a little.

“Hmm, I dunno myself. I think ever since Dad’s been here, I’ve kinda become more childish, I guess,” Light said wonderingly.

“I think you’re better like this. You’re a lot more fun to be around,” I said.

“Oh, so I wasn’t fun before,” she said jokingly.

“Of course you were, you’re just more fun now,” I said, as a pillow came flying towards my face.

I managed to catch it just before it hit my face. I heard her laughing from behind the pillow, and I clicked my fingers softly. I looked around the pillow just in time to see Light’s eyes widen in surprise as she fell flat on her back. I saw her move her hand slightly, and I felt a slight zap on my leg. I clicked my fingers again, and Light’s foot was encased in ice.

“Hey, that’s cold!” she said, summoning a small flame to melt the ice.

I smirked, and there was a knock on the door. Fang poked her head in, looked at Light on the floor trying to melt the ice, shook her head, and said “You know, Light, you’re meant to be protecting this town from monsters.”

“Oh, I forgot, sorry Fang, I’ll be out in a minute,” Light said sheepishly. Fang rolled her eyes and left. “Why won’t this stupid ice melt?”

“Because I’m a better mage than you,” I said simply, moving down to melt the ice myself. She scowled at me. “Yeah well I’m a better fighter,” she said, nose in the air.

“Never said you weren’t,” I said, poking my tongue out at her.

She poked me on the head and stood up, moving stiffly because her foot was still incredibly cold. She pulled on her boots and picked up her sword, strapping it on her back before turning back to me. “You can come if you want,” she said.

“Nah, think I’ll stay here and think of more ways to make you late for work,” I said, laughing a little.

“Suit yourself,” Light said with a smirk, and she left.

I sat down, watching the television. Things were settling down, but we still had two gods to kill. I was worried about Serah and Snow, because I could imagine the gods using them as leverage to get to Light. _No, don’t think about that._ I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and watched the television silently.


	16. 16. Heat - Lightning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Themes you might want to listen to while reading
> 
> \- Blinded By Light - FFXIII  
> \- Snow's Theme - FFXIII

The weather has gotten worse. Instead of snow, we now have blistering heat, well above the average temperature. People are dying. It’s like the end of the world all over again. The streets are deserted, everyone is holed up in their homes next to their air conditioners. The only positive is that the monsters are dying as well.

I turned the key in the lock and opened the door, to be greeted by Hope with a cool drink. “Thanks,” I said to him. He smiled and walked back over to the couch and sat next to Dad.

“Hot out there?” Dad said. I gave him a sceptical look as I took of my sword and shoes, and then walked over to the bathroom to shower.

After my shower, I walked back out to the living room where dad was on the phone and Hope was looking worried. “Oh great, what now?” I asked. Dad held up his hand to shut me up. I crossed my arms and blew a loose bit of hair out of my face. A few minutes later Dad hung up the phone and looked over at me.

“Looks like we’re going to Pompilius,” he said emotionlessly.

“Why?” I said, though I half new the answer.

“Snow and Serah have gone missing,” he said.

Hope gripped the chair, his hands bone white. I grabbed my boots and sword and walked out the door to the train station. As soon as I left the coolness of the house my hair was plastered to my head and sweat started to trickle down my brow. As I got to the station, Dad and Hope appeared next to me.

“We’re not letting you go this alone, you know,” Hope said.

“Yeah we’re in this together,” Dad said. He put a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded and stepped onto the train.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short chapter and also the gap between chapters. Just started Year 11 and the workload is immense, will try to get more out soon!


End file.
